# Chapter 679: Self-Severing Enlightenment Art
A sea of flames spread everywhere, as if the world itself had been ignited. Nothing else could be seen, only nine-colored misty threads swirling about.
It was incomparably scorching. Even from a great distance, many palaces forged from refined gold melted and evaporated cleanly, leaving nothing behind.
Within the arena, this was a scene from a Shura hell. Cries of agony rose and fell in waves. Most of the Wang Clan's middle-aged and younger generation were submerged within, struggling in the sea of fire.
Moments ago, Wang Teng had achieved a great victory. Many of their clan members had come forward to offer congratulations, gathering together—now, this had become a tragedy.
"Ah..."
The Three Heroes of the Wang Clan, reputed to be the three strongest youths beneath Wang Teng, became ashes in an instant. Only a brief cry escaped their lips before they vanished forever.
Wang Chengkun's vision darkened. He spat out a mouthful of blood. Those were the future hopes of their Wang Clan, and now they had died like this.
"Ah..."
Another fierce roar was quickly cut short, leaving no sound behind. A generation's Great Power, Wang Chengyun, persisted for a moment before his human torch form ultimately became dust. Not even a single bone remained.
Wang Chengkun's heart ached so much he nearly fainted. This was his own blood brother, a famous warrior of the clan whose strength was unfathomable, no less than his own. In the prime of his life, he had ended like this.
"No!" he cried out, but he was powerless to stop it. The great fire spread, devouring heaven and earth. Even his son, the Northern Emperor, was about to die.
"How could this be?!" A senior elder of the Wang Clan glared so fiercely his eyes nearly split. He wished he could pounce over and tear Ye Fan's flesh from his bones. This was an unbearable pain.
Cries of agony rose and fell. Before the golden ancient war chariot, most of the Wang Clan's people had gathered, primarily the middle-aged and younger generation. Not a single one survived—total annihilation!
These were their hopes, the pillars of their future. Yet in a single morning, they had become smoke and clouds. All the years of nurturing, all the effort and resources expended, had flowed away like water.
"Ah..."
Finally, two more screams rang out. Two relatively "young" Great Powers met their deaths, erased from the world.
This fire was too brutal. It had burned to death three Great Powers of the Wang Clan. If Wang Chengkun hadn't been sent flying with half his body shattered by the bronze coffin, he too would have died in the divine flames.
"So ruthless, so ruthless!"
The Wang Clan's ancestral elder and the remaining seven or eight people all trembled, so angry they couldn't speak. Everyone who had come to the Ji Family were elites. To have them wiped out like this was an incalculable loss.
Three Great Powers dead, nearly all the outstanding talents of the middle-aged and younger generation annihilated. This pain was too severe. Without several decades, they couldn't replenish fresh blood. There would be a generational gap.
But what terrified them most was that the clan's imperial son, Wang Teng, was on the verge of death, about to rot away. The flames had burned his body into charcoal. It seemed impossible to save him.
The Northern Emperor was indeed powerful. Even a sect master enveloped by nine-colored flames would surely die, yet he had persisted until now, resisting the god of death.
Although the nine-colored misty threads had submerged even his head, he still hadn't been extinguished. He roared fiercely, alone resisting the divine flames.
This was a powerful physique, possessing a trace of immortal divine nature. Many Saint Lords would have to admit inferiority—he remained unburned in the calamitous fire!
Ye Fan also felt a chill. Although the Northern Emperor was a vicious enemy, he was truly too powerful. Ye Fan hadn't just struck out with a single divine flame this time; he had overturned the black gourd, letting nine-colored sacred flames flood this place. Even so, Wang Teng still hadn't been burned to death.
Even a living fossil would have died—no physical body could be so strong. This was the power of undying divine nature, transcending mortal bodies!
"No wonder he could fight the Battle Saint Ape head-on," some people murmured.
The Battle Saint Ape was the physically strongest royal clan among the ancient creatures, yet the Northern Emperor had fought a great battle with the monkey in the Qinling Mountains. Although his physical body was at a disadvantage, it was almost comparable.
However, Wang Teng finally couldn't hold on. Most of his body had become charcoal, without a trace of life. This flame was impossible for him to truly block. Annihilation was only a matter of time.
"Teng'er!" The Wang Clan's people cried out. All trace of arrogance was gone. Their faces were pale. If the Northern Emperor died, the great enterprise their family had planned would all come to nothing.
"Sever Heaven!"
"Sever Dao!"
"Sever Self!"
The Northern Emperor suddenly roared. From within his head, a golden primordial spirit rushed out, manifesting as a divine being, then transforming into a Dao sword that slashed downward.
"Pfft"
He had severed himself. His physical body became dust. A stream of pure qi surged upward, protected by the Dao sword, flying against the sky to reassemble a body. It was solemn and dignified, like a deity descending to the mortal world.
What kind of mystical technique was this? Everyone was greatly shocked. In a situation of certain death, he had escaped again, giving birth to a body like that of an Immortal King.
Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even the various sect masters and several living fossils felt their hearts pound violently, almost crying out involuntarily.
"Self-Severing Enlightenment Art!" Finally, Red Dragon Daoist's eyes froze as he spoke these words, his mood seeming very heavy.
Many cultivators were shocked. This was a mysterious and terrifying ancient art—severing the past self, enlightening the mind through the Dao, transcending the present self, realizing the Dao in the future, and clearly seeing one's own heart.
"This ancient art has appeared in the world again!" No one was not astonished. This was a strange art that had dazzled through the ages, seizing the fortune of heaven and earth, unmatched throughout history. It was one of the most terrifying techniques.
"Could the legends be true? That the Ruthless Great Emperor's fourth incarnation, the Chaotic Ancient, was one of them?!" Red Dragon Daoist's expression was grave.
The Self-Severing Enlightenment Art was said to be related to the Ruthless Great Emperor. He had shed his demonic body to give birth to a new divine fetus, living another lifetime.
In the sky, Wang Teng suddenly cried out loudly. Blood oozed from his entire body. Every inch of his skin cracked, nearly turning into a pile of minced flesh.
"Fortunately, this is not the complete Self-Severing Enlightenment Art." Red Dragon Daoist seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Even as a living fossil, he showed such an expression, which showed the pressure others felt.
"The Self-Severing Enlightenment Art is recorded in the Undying Heavenly Art. Neither in the present age nor in the past has anyone ever obtained it." Fifth Great Bandit Wu Dao spoke.
In the present age, both the *Undying Scripture* and the *Beginningless Scripture* were extremely mysterious. Aside from the two Great Emperors, they had never appeared in the world. Outsiders had no way to cultivate them.
"Boom"
Ye Fan had no intention of giving him a chance. At this moment, he made no attempt to hide his killing intent. Whoever tried to stop him, he would kill. He charged upward, and from between his brows, the small black gourd spewed nine-colored sacred flames, instantly covering the sky.
"Teng'er!"
The Wang Clan people cried out in alarm. Someone made a move, striking at Ye Fan, but it was blocked by the bronze coffin.
"Chaotic Heaven Secret Art—Exile Self!"
Wang Teng gritted his teeth. An endless abyss of dimensions appeared, swallowing him within. This allowed him to evade this earth-shattering strike and escape certain death.
Eternal darkness, endless icy cold, swallowed the Northern Emperor. He vanished from his original position. Earlier, he had used the Chaotic Heaven Secret Art to exile Ye Fan, but now he turned around and buried himself within.
"Teng'er!"
Wang Teng's father pounced forward, followed by two senior elders. They wanted to kill Ye Fan with all their might. The might of three such men was incomparable and impossible to resist.
However, Ye Fan was not afraid. As the saying goes, overwhelming force defeats a hundred techniques. Now, with a single flame in hand, he had the world under his control. Unless someone found a treasure that could counter his flames, they could only come to die.
"Boom"
Heaven-covering divine flames danced wildly. Nine-colored clouds spread out in splendor, like an endless chain of star domains collapsing downward, ready to cremate three Great Powers.
All three could dominate a region with their skills. They retreated at the first moment, dodging this strike.
"Stop!" The Ji Family's Eighth Ancestor shouted.
"Fall back!" The Wang Clan's ancestral elder also commanded, stepping forward personally.
"Hum"
At the same time, a living fossil of the Ji Family made his move. He didn't want several important figures of the Northern Plains' number one Primordial Aristocratic Clan to meet with misfortune, or there would be many troubles later. He acted simultaneously with the Ji Family's Saint Lord.
A Void Great Split Slash struck out, instantly separating two realms. It forcibly created a void realm between the sacred flames and the several people, cutting off both sides.
This was the Ji Family's secret art. When it came to the study of space, no one surpassed them. Although the Chaotic Heaven Secret Art touched upon it, it was not the foundational divine art of the Chaotic Ancient Great Emperor.
Emperor Void, who controlled the ultimate of space, was unmatched by anyone. He possessed heaven-defying means. In battle with any enemy, he was almost inherently undefeatable, with no technique able to break through.
The final pages of the *Void Scripture* contained true forbidden imperial arts. To this day, those who had seen them were either dead or buried somewhere in the cosmos.
Ye Fan did not pursue. He stood still, not wanting to make things difficult for the Ji Family. Fighting them would not be worth the gain.
"Teng'er!" Wang Chengkun cried out, his eyes bloodshot, his expression extremely ferocious.
"Northern Emperor, I'll wait for you to come out and truly kill you!" Ye Fan snorted coldly. A patch of firelight dripped from between his brows, enveloping himself to protect his body.
In the distance, the crowd was horrified. This terrifying flame could burn even living fossils to death, yet he stood within it without fear. People were terrified.
"The Sacred Body has grown to such a level!"
At this moment, everyone muttered to themselves. This was the very flame that had forced Wang Teng to sever himself, yet he bathed in it.
"The *True Sun Scripture* truly deserves to be called the mother scripture of the human race. It can control all fires of the world!"
People wouldn't understand. The sacred flame of the ninth level of the Fire Domain was terrifying beyond measure. Even with the *True Sun Scripture*, Ye Fan currently couldn't withstand it. Only the Bodhi Seed could counter it.
"Has the Northern Emperor really died? Lost in the dimensional space he himself created..."
People were uncertain. Half an hour had passed, and he still hadn't appeared. Entering such a void realm made it very difficult to come out alive.
"Boom"
Chaotic clouds scattered. The void opened, and the Northern Emperor charged out. Although his entire body was covered in blood, he had stabilized his physical form, placing himself in a flourishing state.
"To have cultivated the incomplete Self-Severing Enlightenment Art to such a degree is truly unbelievable!" People marveled.
Wang Teng couldn't use it to transform into a divine fetus. Throughout history, only one person had achieved that. But the Northern Emperor had used it to save his own life, which was enough to shock the world.
Ye Fan didn't waste any words. Without another word, he offered up the black gourd, holding it in his hand, and furiously activated it. Endless nine-colored flames spread out, covering the sky and earth.
Wang Teng was the most powerful enemy he had ever encountered, surpassing all before him. One could say that even the various Saint Lords would be afraid when facing him, but Ye Fan didn't feel pressured.
"Do you really think my title of Northern Emperor is just empty talk?!" Wang Teng was truly enraged. Since emerging into the world, he had swept all before him, advancing triumphantly with no one able to match him. Now, his physical body had been destroyed.
"Nine Secrets of..." He let out a great roar, about to unleash the Nine Secrets. At this moment, he had nearly transformed into a divine being. His left eye was a true dragon, his right eye an immortal phoenix.
"Treasure, please turn around!" Ye Fan said. He had said it casually, mainly intending to activate the flames to burn through the heavens and destroy the Northern Emperor. However, an astonishing scene truly unfolded. From within the black gourd rushed a condensed ancient universe. Endless stars gathered, star domains flickered, and the cosmic star domain transformed into an immortal sword that flew out.
"Pfft"
It was too fast. The immortal sword shot through, instantly severing the Northern Emperor's head. It struck several more times, hacking it to pieces!
Everyone was dumbfounded. What had just happened? How had the situation reversed so quickly? Wang Teng was about to launch his attack, but before he could make his move, he was beheaded.
"It's that thing! It still exists in the world! In ancient times, it beheaded ancient kings!" Zi Tiantu suddenly stood up, his purple pupils shooting out two dazzling beams of light.